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Andrew Lincoln Teases How Long He’ll Play Rick For On The Walking Dead

The Walking Deadseason 8 marked the end of an era for the hit AMC zombie drama in many ways. Within the show itself, it saw the threat of Negan and the Saviors finally dealt with after three seasons, while behind the scenes, it also served as the last episode overseen by showrunner Scott Gimple, who’s handing the baton over to new head writer Angela Kang for season 9.

Someone who’s very excited for the future of the series is TWD star Andrew Lincoln. The actor has worked with several showrunners over the years, but it’s clear that he’s happy that things are changing once again as he told ComicBook.com that Kang’s tenure will give The Walking Dead a renewed energy. He also teased that the next season may link back to the pilot episode in some form.

“I’m very excited about Angela [Kang]’s tenure. She pitched the first eight a couple of weeks ago. I think we’re getting the first episode today. There’s a renewed vigor, vitality, energy, and just vision that’s happening that is reminiscent, and certainly for me, of the pilot episode. There’s a lot of things in there that I kind of dig that she’s looking into. The things that I loved about the pilot episode, there’s a few ideas in there that she’s expanding and running with, which is very exciting.”

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But with The Walking Dead soon reaching 10 years on the air, is Andrew Lincoln thinking of moving on at all? After all, there have been numerous rumours and fan theories on the subject of Rick Grimes biting the bullet at some point. It doesn’t sound like that’s something Lincoln’s considering at present, though, as he’s still “thrilled” to be part of the drama.

“You keep writing episodes like that season finale, Episode 8×14 with Morgan, and a few other crackers. The scenes in Episode 8 and 9 last season, I’d be thrilled to hang around. I love the story and I love the characters that make up the story.”

On the other hand, the actor went on to make clear that he would like a finite end to his character eventually, revealing that he thinks the fans and Rick himself need his arc to be wrapped up at some point.

There’s part of me that really wants to complete something. How long that takes? I don’t know but certainly I really think the fans and my character deserves an end point as some time in the future.”

Lincoln staying on for the foreseeable future is certainly good news. After Chandler Riggs left the series in the most recent midseason premiere, it might shake the boat too much if his father was to exit stage left as well. Still, if we’ve learned anything about The Walking Dead, it’s that no one is safe forever, so we’ll just have to wait and see what’s next for Rick when season 9 airs on AMC this fall.